Three-year-old defies the odds

McKinzie Snead and her mother Lindsay are seen in their home in Navarre.

ANGEL McCURDY / Daily News

By ANGEL McCURDY / Daily News

Published: Saturday, May 25, 2013 at 04:28 PM.

NAVARRE — Three-year-old McKinzie Snead smiles brightly just before putting a tiny spoon in her mouth and eating make-believe soup.

“Yum,” she says to her mother, later telling a visitor that the “soup” is water-flavored.

The little girl is strapped onto a board designed to help strengthen her muscles. At 3, she can’t hold up her head or move her legs.

Her mother, Lindsay Snead, says she first noticed something was wrong when, at four months, her daughter stopped moving her legs, sitting up and pushing up.

McKinzie was diagnosed at six months with a rare genetic disorder known as spinal muscular atrophy. The disease attacks the nerves that communicate with muscles that control arms and legs.

“It was like the ‘Twilight Zone’ when we learned what was going on,” 24-year-old Lindsay says. “We were told she would never walk and they didn’t think she’d make it to 1.

Then, they didn’t think she’d make it to 2.

“We’ve now stopped listening to what they say.”

Their home in Navarre is filled with devices to help McKinzie live as normally as possible. On a sunny afternoon, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl sits in a chair specially made for her while she watches a cartoon on an iPad in front of her.

She can make small movements to swipe the screen and take pictures. After she’s done showing off her iPad skills, she asks her mother to take her out of her chair so she can crawl for her visitor.

Since McKinzie isn’t strong enough to propel herself, her mother balances the little girl across her knees and scoots across the floor. McKinzie smiles happily, moving her arms in a crawling motion while her mom does all the work.

“She can’t crawl, so I use my body to be hers,” Lindsay says breathlessly. “I take her to parks and help her so she can do everything. I’m sure people don’t understand why I’m up there with the 2 year olds.”

Lindsay and her husband Kyle say they’ve been blessed with the tools they need to get through each day. The only thing they’re missing is a handicap-accessible van, which insurance won’t cover.

For now, they’re using Lindsay’s mother’s van, but that requires extra lifting for the small-framed young mother.

The Sneads are semi-finalists in a contest to win a new van, but the votes are still being tallied. If they don’t win, they’re not sure what they can do next.

They say the future is unclear. They don’t know what will happen with their daughter, but Lindsay says despite all the trials she has a happy 3-year-old.

“There are days when it’s hard. She tells me all the time that the reason she can’t walk is because she’s a baby,” Lindsay says. “That just kills me.”

NAVARRE — Three-year-old McKinzie Snead smiles brightly just before putting a tiny spoon in her mouth and eating make-believe soup.

“Yum,” she says to her mother, later telling a visitor that the “soup” is water-flavored.

The little girl is strapped onto a board designed to help strengthen her muscles. At 3, she can’t hold up her head or move her legs.

Her mother, Lindsay Snead, says she first noticed something was wrong when, at four months, her daughter stopped moving her legs, sitting up and pushing up.

McKinzie was diagnosed at six months with a rare genetic disorder known as spinal muscular atrophy. The disease attacks the nerves that communicate with muscles that control arms and legs.

“It was like the ‘Twilight Zone’ when we learned what was going on,” 24-year-old Lindsay says. “We were told she would never walk and they didn’t think she’d make it to 1.

Then, they didn’t think she’d make it to 2.

“We’ve now stopped listening to what they say.”

Their home in Navarre is filled with devices to help McKinzie live as normally as possible. On a sunny afternoon, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl sits in a chair specially made for her while she watches a cartoon on an iPad in front of her.

She can make small movements to swipe the screen and take pictures. After she’s done showing off her iPad skills, she asks her mother to take her out of her chair so she can crawl for her visitor.

Since McKinzie isn’t strong enough to propel herself, her mother balances the little girl across her knees and scoots across the floor. McKinzie smiles happily, moving her arms in a crawling motion while her mom does all the work.

“She can’t crawl, so I use my body to be hers,” Lindsay says breathlessly. “I take her to parks and help her so she can do everything. I’m sure people don’t understand why I’m up there with the 2 year olds.”

Lindsay and her husband Kyle say they’ve been blessed with the tools they need to get through each day. The only thing they’re missing is a handicap-accessible van, which insurance won’t cover.

For now, they’re using Lindsay’s mother’s van, but that requires extra lifting for the small-framed young mother.

The Sneads are semi-finalists in a contest to win a new van, but the votes are still being tallied. If they don’t win, they’re not sure what they can do next.

They say the future is unclear. They don’t know what will happen with their daughter, but Lindsay says despite all the trials she has a happy 3-year-old.

“There are days when it’s hard. She tells me all the time that the reason she can’t walk is because she’s a baby,” Lindsay says. “That just kills me.”